Hey!Watch encode videos online

Hey!Watch is a great new web 2.0 service that lets you convert video files online. What makes it special is that it offers features that other online encoding services to not offer at the moment.

You may use the service to upload your own videos to convert the files into a large selection of different video formats, or use bookmarklets or extensions to convert videos that you have found on video hosting sites directly.

Hey!Watch supports many devices and formats including devices such as iPods, Mobiles, PDAs, PSP, Wii, Zune and video formats like Divx, DVD and SVCD. The videos that are transferred can be of any size but can't exceed a playtime of ten minutes. A list of all videos that you have transferred to Hey!Watch is available under Raw Videos in your home directory.

Clicking on Encode lets you choose a video and a format / device it should be encoded to. The approximate file size is displayed beneath the selected options.

The encoding takes place in a background process meaning you can simply turn off the computer or download more videos that you want to encode later. Encoded videos are hosted on the Hey!Watch website for 12 hours and get deleted afterwards. Downloads and encoding sessions are limited to one at a time for free users. A limit of 10 encoding sessions per month limits the free service even more.

You receive an email every time an encoding session finishes. It is also possible to subscribe to an RSS Feed that provides you with the same information.

A paid account is available which is offered for $4.99 a month. This one raises the limit of encoding sessions to 100 per month and three can be done concurrently. I personally think that the service should raise the amount of encoding sessions because ten per month does not look that great at all. Even 100 for the paid service is not that great.

As of now Hey!Watch is a great service for a quick encoding session. I think that many users will register and use it for some days and leave it when the encoding cap is reached for the month. This will probably cost them many users in the long run.

Update: The service is no longer available. Here are a couple of alternatives:

1. Online Convert - Convert videos into different formats. You can upload videos from your computer or enter a video url into the form that you want to convert. The service can cut the video, change its bitrate, audio quality or frame rate in the process.
2. Online Video Convert - A similar service that can turn local or online video files into different formats.